Mid Winter Festival

The Winter Solstice has been a celebrated day throughout most of human history and prehistory. It is on this day that the last festival or feast was commonly held before the coming of the wintry months or the times of famine. The solstice was extremely important due to the fact that in early times survival was not certain in the months ahead. Many communities would slaughter much of their livestock, so they would not have to be fed during the lean months of winter. Hence meat was uncommonly plentiful and so was alcoholic beverages due to their coincidental fermentation near this date. Therefore with the uncertainty of life, large amounts of meat and great quantities of alcohol, a party seemed quite appropriate.

Although life is a bit more certain and meat and alcohol is always plentiful, we still celebrate this ancient tradition, through a dozen or more religious celebrations.